William McCleverty, an 18th Century Explorer's Links with Waterford

A view of the attendance

Kevin P Hall, Erica Fay, Sonny Condon

Life at sea in the 18th century was far from glamorous, especially before the link was made between scurvy and the lack of vitamin C. Those who attended the lecture on William McCleverty on Friday 28th September were left in no doubt as to what it meant to travel on the high seas, face enemies, visit hostile countries and survive the journey home. Captain McCleverty was one of those survivors, and despite it all,  remained in the Royal Navy. Erica Fay delivered a very colourful, evocative description of his life and time. If you missed the lecture, you will be able to read all about it in the next edition of Decies.

From Our Neighbour: South Kilkenny Historical Society

South Kilkenny Historical Society lecture, Thursday, September 27th, 8pm

Title: From Morse Code to Twitter
Speaker: Mr Padraig Laffan
Venue: Mullinavat Parish Hall (opposite church)
Admission: €5 (members free)

This lecture traces the development of communications during Padraig 's working career - first as a ship's Radio Officer, followed by 40 years with RTE's  outside broadcasting unit.

2012 Autumn Lectures

Waterford Archaeological & Historical Society's lectures will resume on Friday 28th September, with Ms Erica Fay,   Topic:  Captain William McCleverty, An 18th century explorer’s links with Waterford  

The next events will be  as follows:

Friday 26th October

 

Mr Julian Walton:   

The victims of the Seahorse and the war against Napoleon

Friday 23rd November

 Ms Ann Marie Ryan, Assistant Curator, Kilmainham Jail Museum: 

Kilmainham Jail Museum and Waterford Connections. 

Sunday 2nd  December

Annual Lunch [details beforehand] 

Now Open: Treasures of Medieval Waterford at The Choristers' Hall

The scaffolding is gone, the doors are open: The Medieval Museum is now in operation and awaits visitors from near and far! Below is the promotional video which explain where and how the museum was built, and how unique the project is for Ireland.

Last Outing of the Season: The T F Meagher Trail

On 26 July 2012 we followed Dr J M Hearne through the streets of Waterford to the various locations associated with the Meagher family. We met outside the Granville Hotel, birth place of T F Meagher.

 We moved on to O'Connell St where the Meaghers lived first, at number 51,

and where they had a business where the Granary stands today. 

Dr J M Hearne reading quotes from T F Meagher. 

We then made our way to the Mall - The Meagher family had lived at number 19  (now the Sabai Restaurant), the Tricolour was first flown at number 33 (now Mint Café) and of course the monument to T F Meagher stands proud on the Mall. 

A Waterford Olympic Medalist: Peter O'Connor

In the 1906 Olympic Games in Athens Peter O’Connor, a lawyer from Waterford, won a silver and a gold medal.

 Prior to independence Irish athletes took part in the games as part of the British team and during the medal ceremony O’Connor brandished a green flag to emphasise his Irish nationality.

The Blue Plaque that bears his name is located at 23, O'Connell Street, Waterford. (Source: Waterford Civic Trust)


Footage of his jump can be seen on the top floor of the Bishop's Palace.

Visit to Graiguenamanagh

On Sunday 15 July members and friends made their way to Graiguenamanagh in the neighbouring county to meet members of the local historical society for an afternoon of discovery. Mr Owen Doyle, Chairman, guided the visitors through the streets of Graiguenamanagh, on the banks of the river Barrow, and to Duiske Abbey.